


Muffins - Loki fanfic

by ilse_writes



Series: Loki & Ylva alternate universe stories [2]
Category: Loki - Fandom
Genre: Alternate Universe - Coffee Shops & Cafés, Avengers - Freeform, Characters from Coffee & Books fanfiction, Delicious Fluff, Domestic Avengers, F/M, Fluff, Loki's POV, Lokitty, Meet-Cute, New York City, No Infinity War, Post Ragnarok, Romantic Fluff, Spin-off from original fanfiction
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-01-20
Updated: 2019-01-20
Packaged: 2019-10-13 11:20:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 15,078
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17487170
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ilse_writes/pseuds/ilse_writes
Summary: Loki walks the streets of Manhattan when he literally bumps into a girl who has some sort of magical power over him. The God of Lies decides to investigate, in his feline form...This short story features the characters from my Loki fanfic 'Coffee & Books', but in an alternate universe where they don't know each other. This is just me having fun writing about Loki and Ylva :-) It is not related to the 'Coffee & Books' storyline, it just has the same characters. Enjoy!





	Muffins - Loki fanfic

 

***

It's the early morning and the Odinson brothers walk the streets of Manhattan, on their way to Stark Tower. Loki walks with his hands loosely in the pockets of his black bespoke suit. "Really, brother," he comments haughtily, "I don't know why you insist on dressing like that. The clothes on Midgard are one of the only things that make living here bearable."

Thor adjusts his jeans jacket that covers his hoodie. "What? I like this, it's comfortable!"

"Yes," Loki sneers, "it also looks like you should be pushing a shopping cart filled with empty plastic bottles."

"At least I don't look like a witch!" Thor throws back at his raven haired sibling.

The brothers continue their banter while they wait at a red light. Loki barely hides his contempt for the mortals that surround them, waiting for the light to turn green so they can cross the street. Most of the people are dressed for work, carrying briefcases or shoulderbags. A little to the side he can hear some schoolgirls whisper excitedly among each other, stealing glances at the God of Thunder. Thor is popular with the mortals at Midgard, courtesy of him swinging his hammer in defence of the realm. However, the majority of his fanbase seems to exist out of teenage girls that swoon if Thor so much as looks their way.

"I swear, if they bat their eyelashes at you any harder, they'll become airborne," Loki grumbles at his brother, crossing the street when the light turns green.

Thor jovially pats him on the shoulder. "You're just jealous, little brother! The women of Midgard are beautiful and friendly, it's a delight to be around them." The God of Thunder glances at the schoolgirls following him to his left, who errupt into giggles the moment he looks their way. "Although these are a little young, I give you that."

Loki frowns. "I don't see what's so special about mortal women."

"And you will never discover it if you keep up that attitude," Thor grins. "You might wanna start by smiling a little more."

Loki quickly steps to the side to avoid another slap on the shoulder by his brother. By doing that, he bumps into someone carrying a street board sign. The edge of the chalkboard sign hits him hard in the shins; he grinds his teeth together in pain and grabs hold of the board. His black suit is stylish, but it certainly lacks the padding of his leather armour.   
"You puny wench!" he snaps, followed by some Asgardian profanities.

On the other side of the chalkboard sign is a young woman, staring at him in shock. She has strawberry blonde hair, put up in a loose bun at the back of her head, and is wearing a black poloshirt with a nametag pinned over her left breast. 'Ylva', it says; Loki automatically translates the old Norse name to 'Little Wolf'. She is standing pretty close, one hand on top of the chalkboard sign just like him.   
"Oh! I am so sorry! Did you hurt yourself?"

"No," Loki spits out. "That was your doing."

"I'm really sorry, sir!" She has big blue eyes that plead with him.

The woman moves her free hand to his arm and leaves it there as if to comfort him. Loki is appalled by her audacity to touch  _him_ , the prince of Asgard and a Master of Magic; these mortals have no common sense at all! Yet his abhorrence dissolves quickly, leaving him perplexed by what is happening. A warm glow starts to spread through his body, relaxing him inch by inch.

At the same time Loki pulls his arm away from her hand, Thor grabs a hold of his other arm and pulls Loki with him. Walking away, Thor excuses himself to the woman. "An accident, my lady. Could happen to anyone. Goodbye!" 

When they are a few yards away Thor lets go of Loki's arm. "Really brother, if you react like this to every Midgardian who accidently bumps into you, we'll never get to Stark Tower in time. Have you seen these streets? They are swarming with people!"   
Thor waves his arm around to point out the amount of people that crowd the sidewalk, nearly hitting a few mortals in the process.   
"Besides, it was a cute girl. You could have done worse."

Easily keeping up with Thor's broad strides, Loki turns around to look back at the girl. She has just finished putting up the street board sign and walks back into the shop. The shop window shows a large logo of a stack of books with a coffee cup on top. 'Coffee & Books' is written in big curly letters above the logo.

 

***

 

The meeting at Stark Tower bores Loki to no end; Captain America is droning on about some mission that didn't go exactly as planned and the billionaire inventor who spends his days flying around in a red and yellow tin suit is disagreeing with him. What else is new? Loki doesn't know why Thor keeps dragging him to these meetings, it's not like the other Avengers really want him there. They have called in his help for some missions and he has proven himself useful - it was in his interest to get out of there alive too - so they grudgingly accept his presence. Loki's mind wanders to more interesting things; like that mortal woman from this morning, with her curious touch. He mentally lists the possible origins of her powers, still a more fun thing to do than paying attention to this meeting.

"I could use some coffee," the Black Widow whispers to her ever present sidekick, Loki can hear them talking from across the table. The red-haired spy and the archer are always quietly talking amongst each other during meetings, yet when Loki says something to Thor he gets shushed by the Captain immediately.

"Already ordered," the archer answers quietly, showing her his phone. "Some muffins too."

"With blueberries, I hope?" Thor booms across the table, startling everyone. Loki pinches the bridge of his nose; Thor will never be subtle, about anything.

As if on cue, there's a knock on the door of the conference room. The walls are made of glass, including the door, so there really is no chance to sneak up on the people in the room; yet Loki finds himself staring at the person who is now opening the door. It's the young woman who bumped into him earlier that morning. She is carrying cartons with large foam coffee cups and from her arm hangs a plastic bag with a big white box. Around her neck is a lanyard with a Special Visitors tag, explaining why she is standing on a restricted floor of Stark Tower.

The others do not seem surprised by her presence, Captain America even greets her by name. "Good morning, Ylva!"  
Stark is less courteous; he practically bounces to her side of the room and takes one of the trays out of her hands to search for his beverage. "Fuel!" he exclaims, holding up the coffee cup he was searching for. "You're right on time, doll. Any longer and Capsicle here would have literally talked me to sleep."

The woman loosely ignores the flamboyant billionaire, takes the carton back and cheerily wishes everyone a good morning. Chatting casually with the people in the room, she personally hands out everyone's drink. "A cappucino for you, Mr. Banner. How are you this morning?"

Loki follows her every move, slowly leaning in to Thor. "Brother," he says quietly, "there is something about that woman."

"Isn't that the same girl we saw this morning?" This time Thor does his best to whisper. He is not very succesful, though because the others are talking too, their conversation doesn't stand out.

"Yes, but I tell you, this is no ordinairy mortal." Loki's eyes follow Ylva as she slowly makes her way around the table. He senses nothing that indicates she is a witch or has other powers. For a second he thinks about walking over to her and pressing his hand to her temple to sift through her memories. The nuisance of getting jumped by the Avengers, who clearly like her, is the only thing that stops him.

"No, this is a very pretty mortal," Thor says to Loki with a big smile, watching Ylva too.

"Yes, she is beautiful," Loki answers almost automatically before he checks himself. "But that is not what I mean!"

Thor chuckles softly, pressing his lips together to silence himself when Loki glares at him.

"This morning, when she touched me, I felt something," Loki says slowly, arranging his thoughts. "I have never felt anything like it. It was warm, like sunlight spreading through my veins."

"Brother! That is great!" Thor suddenly booms, again attracting the attention of everyone in the room. Though before Thor can continue, the God of Thunder's attention is caught by the cup of coffee that is being held out to him.

"I'm assuming the black coffee is for you, sir," the young woman says with a friendly smile on her face. "I've also got some blueberry muffins, if you would like one?"

"Yes, please, my lady!" Thor eagerly takes the coffee and a muffin from her. "Thanks, Clint," he says to the archer across the table, already speaking with his mouth full.

That only leaves Loki; the young woman has one foam cup left in her carton. "Hello, sir. Nice to see you again," she says with a bright smile that touches her eyes.

Loki doesn't know what to think of her warm attitude towards him. It makes him suspicious, is she here to lure him in? He cautiously takes the cup of warm liquid she holds out to him.

"I hope a nice cup of tea can make up a little for our run-in this morning." The young woman offers him a sachet of tea; 'Earl grey' it says on the little bag.

"Thank you," Loki says slowly, taking the tea-bag from her hands without breaking eye-contact. When his fingers touch hers, however briefly, he senses that warm feeling again. Yet, the woman doesn't show any signs of deliberately touching him or actively using magic. That leaves only two options; either she is  _very_  skilled, or she doesn't know she does it at all.

When her cheeks start to glow pink Loki realises he has been staring at her. To make matters worse, they seem to be at the centre of everyone's attention. Stark is smirking at him from the other side of the room, Loki knows it will only be a matter of time before the tin man will open his big mouth. He frantically tries to think of something to diffuse the situation, but it's already too late.

Thor puts his big arm around Loki's shoulders. "You have to excuse my brother, my lady, he isn't always this quiet. You seem to make him a little shy!"

Loki widens his eyes in horror at his brother's words. He hears a low snicker from across the table where Black Widow and Hawkeye are sitting; behind Ylva's back he can see Stark showing a face splitting grin. The young woman shifts her weight from one foot to the other, clearly not at ease.

Oblivious to either Ylva's unease or Loki's building anger, Thor merrily continues. "He told me you made quite the impression this morning. That does not happen often, I think you two should go on a date!"

Laughter erupts around the room; Stark actually doubles over and bangs his fist on the table, roaring with laughter. Thor looks from Loki to Ylva with a dumb grin on his face, a grin that Loki would gladly remove with brutal force at this very moment. Instead, he slowly rises from his chair and starts off in the direction of the door, taking Ylva by the elbow. It takes her a few steps to fall in stride with his long paces.

"Thank you for the tea, my lady. Off you go now," Loki says in a measured voice, holding the door open for her. He tries to ignore the warmth that radiates from the young woman, who now looks up to him. Her cheeks are still pink, but there's a small smile playing around her lips.

"If you like the tea, you're always welcome to come by for more. You know where to find me." She leaves Loki to stare after her, with a room full of people laughing behind him.  
  
  


*******

 

 

While Thor is talking about some video game he played last night, Loki keeps an eye on the shop windows they are walking past. There is the chalkboard on the sidewalk, they pass it every time on their way to Stark Tower. 'Coffee & Books, it doesn't get any better...' it says in curly chalk letters. He already knows what is on the other side: '... until you try our muffins'. The staff of the coffee shop often wears T-shirts with the same text on the front and the back. He glances inside; it is the early afternoon and the place is filled with people. His eyes find her immediately, it's like she is some sort of magnet. With her simple black shirt and loosely braided hair she doesn't really stand out, yet he knows he would be able to find her in a crowd within seconds. She is serving a young couple their coffee, smiling kindly at them. Loki rememberes how she had smiled at him when he met her two weeks ago. Out on the street her unusual touch had made the biggest impression, yet her smile is what haunts him ever since. It annoys him to no end, this is a mortal! A waitress, practically a lowly servant! She shouldn't be worthy of his attention, he tells himself; if it wasn't for her magical abilities, he wouldn't ever have given her a second glance.

At that moment, she looks up and their eyes meet; it is as if the distance between them melts away and she stands right before him. Loki involuntarily steps to the side, bumping lightly into his brother. Thor looks up and sees the girl looking at them through the window.   
"Hey, that's Ylva, right? The one who brought the blueberry muffins." The God of Thunder waves cheerily at the girl, who waves back and smiles.

Loki picks up his pace, before Thor can come up with the ungodly idea of going inside the coffeeshop. His brother easily keeps up with him and jovially slaps his shoulder. "Have you paid her a visit yet? I think she liked you too."

"Shut up." Loki rolls his eyes and shoves his fists deep in his pockets. The rest of the way to Stark Tower Thor keeps chuckling every time Loki looks his way.

After the meeting at Stark Tower - which was pleasantly short and to the point for a change - Thor stays there to play a game of pool with the others. Spending time with the Avengers socially isn't Loki's idea of fun, so he strolls back alone. When he walks past the coffee shop someone just opens the door, holding it open for the mortal that comes out behind them.

It is a split-second decision and the shapeshifting takes even less time. Loki looks around in the coffeeshop. Most of the seats are filled; a male waiter walks past him, balancing a tray on his hand. "Good afternoon, madam!"

He nods in response and looks around for a place to sit. There is a free seat at the counter, where the girl is using the coffee machine. She looks up when he takes a seat and flashes a smile that goes straight to his gut. "Hello! Would you like some coffee too, madam? I'm making it now anyway."

"I'd rather have tea," Loki answers, more awkwardly than he would like to admit to himself. He takes off his green coat and folds it in his lap.

"Tea? I'll be with you in a moment," Ylva answers. "You can select a flavour while you wait." She pushes a large, flat wooden box his way, filled with little sachets of tea in at least 20 different flavours.

Loki's manicured nails trail the top ends of the packaged teabags in the box, his eyes following the girl as she brings the coffee order to a nearby table. She has a kind smile for everyone, something that probably gets her good tips.

Next to Loki sits an elderly lady, reading a gossip magazine. Loki rolls his eyes when he spots a picture of Thor and himself on one of the pages. They get snapped by paparazzi on a regular basis, it comes with the territory of being part of the Avengers. Loki usually manages to erase the SD-cards of the cameras, if they are close enough. At first, he just smashed the camera, but his doofus big brother put a stop to that. So now he has to do it magically, which is unfortunately less accurate. That is why every now and then a photographer gets lucky and their pictures end up online or in magazines.

Pretty soon Ylva puts a steaming cup of hot water in front of him, next to his teabag of choice. "Earl Grey? Good choice. Enjoy your tea, madam."  
She takes the box away and gives the elderly lady a refill on her coffee. "Anything good in there, Mrs. Willow?"

"Nothing special, dear," the old lady answers cheerily. "You know I just like looking at the pictures."

Ylva bends over the counter a little to look at the magazine from up side down. She taps the picture of Thor and Loki with her finger. "Did I tell you I ran into them two weeks ago? It was a bit embarrassing, really."  
The girl explains to the old woman how she literally ran into Loki with the chalkboard sign. "He was really pissed off. I can imagine, being hit in the shins with that board must hurt, no matter which planet you're from!"

The old lady giggles. "Now that's a cute way to meet!"

"Please, Mrs. Willow, it wasn't like that!" Ylva quickly dismisses the comment. "I actually saw him later that morning, when I took a delivery to Stark Tower. I don't think he was happy to see me again."

"Why do you think that?" Loki asks before he can stop himself. Luckily, the old lady and the waitress don't seem to mind that he butted in on their conversation.

"Oh, I don't know. He only stared at me," Ylva says, a light blush creeping up on her cheeks. "Thor did make a joke about his brother liking me, Loki didn't seem to happy about that."

"Thor really said that?" The old lady next to Loki claps her hands in joy. "And then what? Did you ask him out?"

"And then, nothing." Ylva shrugs her shoulders and looks at the two women across from her. "I did tell him he knew where to find me, if he wanted some more tea. But I haven't seen him again. Not until today at least."

Loki nearly chokes on his tea. "Careful, dear," the old lady says, patting his back lightly to help him cough. "Did you speak to him?" she asks Ylva curiously.

The waitress shakes her head. "No, I just saw him and Thor walk by this morning. They didn't come in."

"Too bad," the lady says whistfully. "Although I must say, I think Thor is better looking. That Loki is so dark and gloomy."

"Hmm..." Ylva muses, with a twinkle in her eyes that doesn't escape Loki's attention. "I don't know. There is something about him..."

A man walks up to the counter to order and she proceeds to help him, putting an end to their conversation. Loki slowly drinks his tea, sunken in thoughts. There is a light, or rather some sort of warmth radiating from the girl. It's a form of magic, yet he is sure she doesn't use it consciously. The other mortals don't seem to notice it, they just see a friendly, pretty waitress with a warm smile.

That evening Loki watches the coffee shop close up from a windowsill across the street. He doesn't really know why he is here, why he is watching her turn the locks on the door. Or maybe he knows, yet it is easier to pretend ignorance.   
When he sees her going to the back, Loki jumps easily to the ground, landing on all four paws. He quickly crosses the street, crawls under a parked car and dashes into the alley that leads to the back door of the coffee shop. He doesn't have to wait long before he sees her coming outside with that male colleague of hers. They wave at each other and Loki sits up to follow her home as soon as she walks by the dumpster he is hidden behind. But the only one who walks past is the young man. A bit confused, Loki sticks his little head out to see where she has gone. He spots her on the metal stairs that are attached to the back of the brownstone building; that explains the clanging sounds he heard. On the second floor there is a door that comes out on a small landing; Ylva digs out a key and lets herself in.

Loki jumps on the stairs and makes his way up. There are some windows at the back of the building, yet they are all closed. He walks up and down the fire escape two times, feeling more silly with every passing minute. The God of Lies and Mischief, spying on some mortal girl.

He's about to teleport himself back to the alley when he sees some movement in the window next to him. He is looking at the kitchen, his view partially blocked by the blinds. The girl takes a plastic container from the fridge and puts the contents on a plate. After heating it in the microwave she disappears from the kitchen again, taking her dinner with her. A few moments later Loki hears the sound of a metal door, coming from the roof.

A small flash of green and a second later Loki is sitting on the edge of the roof, his tail curled around his paws. Part of the roof is used as a terrace, with a red wooden bench, two stretchers with a faded flower print and lots and lots of potted plants. The girl pushes the metal door to the roof closed with her foot, balancing her meal in one hand, a drink in the other and a book clutched under her arm. She puts it all down on the red bench before she takes a seat herself. When she digs her fork in her food, Loki faintly smells tomatoes and beef.

For a couple of minutes he just sits there, watching the girl enjoy her spaghetti. She has changed her workclothes to leggings and an oversized sweater, her braided hair hanging over one shoulder. She is just a mortal girl, Loki tries to remind himself, the only thing interesting about her is her magic. He is not here to see that lovely smile of hers. And he certainly doesn't inch closer with every bite she takes, mesmerized by the way she licks her lips to clean off some sauce.

However, Loki soon finds himself behind the large potted plant that is closest to the bench. He peeks around the pot. "Hi kitty! What are you doing up here so high?"  
Loki nearly jumps a feet in the air, four paws at the same time. The girl snickers softly. "Did I scare you, kitty?"

Odin's beard! Oh well, she has spotted him now anyway. Loki casually saunters over to the red bench, his little heart nearly beating out of his furry chest. He stops at about two feet from the bench and sits on his haunches, his bushy tail neatly curled around his paws. Loki looks at the girl and she looks back at him, her head a little tilted to the side. When he does the same, the corners of his mouth pulled up a little, she smiles. "You're a sly one, aren't you?"

In response, Loki walks up to her bare feet and curls himself around one of her ankles, letting his tail trail up her leg. Ylva reaches down and scratches behind his ears, her touch sending a shiver down his spine. He follows her hand with his head, pushing against it. "You like that, little guy?" Ylva coos softly. "Or are you a girl? I can't tell. You're pretty, that's for certain." She scratches under his chin and pulls her hand back to grab her fork again. "I was having dinner, kitty."

Loki sits again, silently watching her finish her plate. She holds up her fork with the last meatball pricked on it. "I always save the best for last," she chuckles, probably feeling a little selfconscious because she is talking to a cat. It makes Loki smile.  
"Want to share?" Ylva eats most of the meatball herself and takes the remaining bit of meat between her fingers to hold it out to him.

Loki has eaten it from her hand before he can think twice. He rarely eats in animal form, though this is human food, which makes it a bit less weird. He licks his lips, to get the grease off. "Tastes good, huh?" Ylva says, putting her plate on the ground.

She settles on the bench with a pillow in her back and her feet up and takes up her book. Loki studies the cover, there's a weird cartoon on it, above the title 'Small gods'. Ylva looks over at the cat. "It's Terry Pratchett. You like it?"   
Loki blinks at her, not wanting to make a sound for fear of sounding too human.   
"It's funny," she says and turns back to her book.

Watching her read, Loki contemplates on what to do. He should leave this roof terrace, turn back to his usual form and go home. Problem is, he doesn't want to. He likes watching her, likes the way she talks to him, enjoys the sunny warmth she is radiating.   
After another split-second decision he jumps up on the bench, near her feet. She glances at him over the edge of her book, yet says nothing. Slowly, Loki walks up to the point where her thighs touch. He puts one paw up on her lap, carefully gauging her reaction.

She doesn't disappoint him. "You want to cuddle, kitty?"   
Loki suppresses the inclination to nod his head in response, instead, he just blinks.  
Ylva smiles and pats her lap, holding her book a little out of the way. The black cat quickly climbs on her lap, remembering to turn a couple of times before lying down. She shifts a little in her seat, before she turns back to her book. Her free hand gently strokes his head and shoulders and Loki can't hold a sigh back. Ylva doesn't seem to notice it though, she's wrapped up in her book.

She continues to pet him, only stopping to turn the page every now and then. When her hand shifts to scratch under his chin, all the way down to his chest, Loki can't help but start purring and push his head against her stomach. Looking up, he sees her looking down at him, a loving smile playing at her lips. She playfully narrows her eyes at him before she shifts her gaze to the page again, gently scratching the fur on his chest, the palm of her hand between his front legs.

Loki promises to have a good, stern talk with himself when he gets home. But for now, he enjoys cuddling on Ylva's lap, purring softly under her caresses. 

  
  
*** 

 

"What's on your mind?" Thor's voice startles Loki out of his pensive state.

"What's it to you?" he snaps.

His brother just shrugs. "You seem out of it the last couple of days. You're even more moody than normal. Might want to talk about it, get it out of your system."

Ah, yes, dear brother, Loki thinks to himself. I'm gonna tell you  _all_  about how I shifted into a cat and lay on a mortal girl's lap for almost two hours, purring so loudly I had a sore throat the other day. It was like he had been under a spell, he had not been able to think straight anymore. A mortal girl had bested  _him_ , the God of Mischief and Lies, a master of magic!  
"It's nothing," Loki answers curtly.

"Whatever you say." Thor gives him a long look, though he says nothing after that.

Loki continues to stare out of the window. At the other side of the street is an apartment building just like theirs. On the floor level with him there's a cat lying in the window; a black and white cat, curled up to a ball and sleeping peacefully. He had fallen asleep at some point too, only to wake up and find her still half-cradling him against her stomach. The feeling he had at that moment could only be described as bliss. Pure bliss.

Ylva had gone back inside when it got too cold to sit outside up on the roof; with the bang of the metal door closing the spell had been broken. Loki came to his senses as he changed back to his usual form, sitting flat on his ass next to the red bench. It was all rather embarrassing.   
He had tried to put the whole thing out of his mind, though when Thor had made pasta last night all he could think of was Ylva sharing her last meatball with him. Disgusting. Yet it had taken a lot of willpower to stay inside after dinner, to  _not_  go to a certain rooftop above a certain coffeeshop again. Maybe he should just return to Asgard, instead of hanging out on Midgard with Thor and those annoying Avengers. However, going back to live under Odin's scrutinizing gaze is not appealing either.

Suddenly, his suit jacket is thrown at him. "Get your moping ass out of that chair, brother. I'm taking you out for coffee."

Loki angrily refuses, but Thor just keeps staring at him until he gives in. "Fine," he grumbles, putting his jacket on. Outside, he soon takes it off again and dangles it over his shoulder. The weather is lovely, even his Frostgiant genes don't require wearing a jacket. He relaxes a little in the sun, actually enjoying walking next to his brother. He likes their stay on Midgard together, not that he would ever say it out loud. It is nice and uncomplicated, as long as he doesn't count that mortal girl and her magical antics.

"Thor?" he asks casually. "Have you ever encountered humans who could do magic?"

His brother thinks on that for a while. "Well... there are some. Dr. Strange, for instance."

"Ah yes, the one whose cloak has a mind of its own." Loki wrinkles his nose in disgust at the thought of the self-righteous wizard. "There are some witches too... They all seem to have two things in common."

"And those are?" Thor asks with a grin. It is a good trait of his oaf of a brother to be open to conversations about anything, at any time.

"A love of wearing capes and showing off," Loki states haughtily. "But that is actually not what I was talking about. I'm more interested in the ones who  _don't_  flaunt their magical abilities."

"What do you mean?" Thor pushes the button to request to cross the street without being overrun by cars.

"Everyone I ever encountered who could do magic, did so consciously and obviously," Loki explains. "You can always see or sense they're using magic. With some you have to look real close, but it can always be detected."

"Your point being?" Thor asks as they cross the street together with the usual throng of New Yorkers.

Loki is silent before he answers thoughtfully. "I think I have encountered one who does it without tell-tales."

"Are you sure it's magic?" Thor had been right, it  _is_  helpful to talk about it out loud. His brother is actually asking sensible questions, helping Loki to put his thoughts in a row.

"I don't know what else it could be," Loki answers, sounding a little desperate.

Thor turns his head sharply. "Are you in trouble, brother? Is this magic-wielding human bothering you?"

Loki shakes his head. "Nothing I can't handle," he huffs. "I only have to figure out  _how_  to handle it yet."'

"Just don't kill him without coming to me first," Thor warns him. "I can't have you killing off humans, it wouldn't sit right with the Avengers."

With a chuckle, Loki kicks a little stone on the sidewalk; it hits the chalkboard sign a few yards ahead. "Don't worry, brother. No killing. Yet. First, I gotta learn more about this mortal."

"Good. Do your research." Thor nods approvingly. He stops at Coffee & Books and holds out his hand to the door. "Come on, let's see if they have some more of those delicious muffins."

A little hesitant Loki follows his brother inside the coffee shop, though he soon relaxes as he discovers the girl isn't there. Her male colleague from the other day is there, with a chocolate-skinned young woman, both wearing a black polo-shirt and a nametag. Thor walks up to the counter and immediately asks for the blueberry muffins.

"Anything to drink with that?" the woman asks friendly. Thor glances back at his brother and orders a large coffee and a tea. "Just take a seat, Thomas will bring your order over in a minute."

The God of Thunder sits his muscular body down on a large, old Chesterfield couch, looking around him with interest. "Nice place," he says when Loki comes to sit down next to him.   
Loki nods, eyeing the bookstore next door. The two shops are connected with each other, there is a glass wall with a door that seperates them.   
"Too bad your favourite waitress isn't working today," Thor jokes, nudging Loki with his elbow.

Lucky for Loki -or Thor, depending on how you look at it- the waiter is there with their order. "One large coffee, one tea, and two blueberry muffins!" he says cheerily. He puts the cups down on the coffee table, with the two muffins and a small box with a choice of tea bags.

"Thank you, Thomas," Thor replies after a look at the young man's nametag. "Is Ylva not working today?"

Loki groans softly. Of course, his brother will not let that go.

"No, she has the day off," Thomas says easily. "Were you looking for her?"

"No," Loki quickly answers, before his brother can turn this in some matchmaking game again.

The waiter looks from Loki to his blond brother. Thor actually has the gall to wink connivingly at the guy, at which the waiter's eyes grow wide. Thomas seems to think for a moment, his thumb drumming against the tray he has tucked under his arm. "I think she actually has some sort of date this afternoon," he says slowly, looking at Loki with a knowing halfsmile. "Should I tell her you asked for her?"

"No!" Loki folds his arms across his chest and stares angrily at their waiter, not missing that next to him Thor is frantically nodding his head.

"Alright, will do!" Thomas smirks. "Enjoy your drinks, gentlemen," he says before he quickly makes his way back to the counter.

"Was that really necessary?" Loki asks sourly, watching how the young man whispers something to the other waitress, after which they both try to look his way undetected.

Thor slaps his shoulder, his cheeks filled with muffin. "You can use some cheering up, my brother. Why not find yourself some lovely company?"

"Didn't you hear her friend? She's already on a date." Loki tries to sound like he doesn't care about any of this, yet his stomach is in a knot since that waiter mentioned Ylva was on a date. With whom?!

"Ahh, yes... that might be a problem," Thor replies soberly. "Maybe you are too late."

It's the sting in his chest he gets at Thor's words that has made Loki come to the alley behind the brownstone building again. His thoughts on it are a bit jumbled, it's hard to make sense of them. Essentially it comes down to wanting to know why she used her magic on him. Does she do that with every man she lays her eyes on? What is her motive? And does she know he visited her in cat form? Did she hex him in that form too? Because he certainly was enthralled by her, he has no other explanation for his behaviour that night.

His tail anxiously flicks back and forth as he watches the windows at the back. He can't see anything from here, he will have to get on the fire escape to look in. He wants to know if she's at home.  _And_  if she's alone. Loki jumps nimbly up the stairs, stopping at every window to look in. He can't see anything, just empty rooms or closed blinds. Nevertheless, someone clearly made dinner in the kitchen; the pots and pans are still sitting on the counter. There must be a diningroom or livingroom at the front of the building, which he can't see from here.  
Starting to get aggravated, Loki continues his climb. The last part of the fire escape is a ladder to the roof, which he can't scale in his cat form. A green flash later he is sitting on the ledge of the building again. The roof terrace is empty. Disappointed, Loki jumps down to the roof and walks between the potted plants. In this small form it's almost like there is a forest growing on the roof of the building. He jumps up on the red bench and looks around him. It's a nice place, a hidden spot in the concrete city jungle. The sun is still warm, although it will not be long before the big gold orb hides behind one of the taller buildings. The warmth of the sun is nice on his dark fur and Loki allows himself to bask in it for a while. Who knows, maybe she'll come sit at the roof again tonight, to enjoy the last of the sun just like him.

 

***

 

Just when he is about to leave, he hears the metal door open. She's here! Loki jumps up and his heart sinks in his chest when he sees she's not alone. There's a young man with her, with brown curls and a light blue polo shirt. They both carry a large mug, probably coffee or tea.

"Oh, hey, little guy, were you waiting for me?" Ylva's light voice carries over the rooftop as she walks over to the red bench, the man following her a few steps behind. Loki's eyes narrow as he sees how the man is checking out her ass. "Look, Chad!" she says merrily, scratching Loki behind his ears as she sits down next to the feline on the bench. "This is the cat I told you about!"

The man sits down on the bench too, on the other side of Loki. The bench becomes a little cramped with the three of them on it. "Is it a stray? He might have fleas..."

Loki flicks his tail from left to right in an agitated manner, but Ylva runs her hand across his back, smoothing out his twitchy tail. "I don't think he's a stray. He looks like he is well taken care of." She scratches the cat's head. "You don't have fleas, hey little guy?"

In reply, Loki pushes his head against her arm, nudging her to pet him some more. She does, while she listens to the man she called Chad talk about some new camera lens he recently bought. "I have only used it for some random pictures until now," he says. "I'd love to shoot some portraits with it, maybe you could model for me some day?"

Loki rolls his cat eyes at the obvious attempt to hit on the girl. Ylva isn't oblivious to it too. "Oh, I don't know, Chad," she says evasively, nipping from her hot tea.

"Come on, Ylva," he coaxes, clearly not easy to blow off, "you have such a pretty face. I'd love to get you in front of my camera." Chad shifts a little in his seat, bringing his knee up on the bench and slightly pushing Loki so the cat has to move over a little. The man switches his coffee cup to his other hand to lean his arm on the back of the bench.

"Well, we're not doing portraits yet at the course," Ylva says with a slight smile. To Loki, her voice sounds a little strained and he puts his front paws on her legs so he can rest half on her lap. She looks down at him and playfully scrunches her nose up at him.

"We don't have to wait for the course program," Chad says temptingly. His hand creeps up over the edge of the bench, in the direction of Ylva's shoulders. The girl doesn't seem to notice: she is concentrating on her cup of tea, politely ignoring the man's thin-veiled attempts at seducing her. Loki lets himself roll off her lap and he stretches his feline body, paws stretched out. Pushing his nails in Chad's jeans is quickly done.

"Ow!" Chad's arm comes rushing down from the benchrest and he shoves Loki roughly to the ground. The cat turns half way, grabbing one of the jeansclad legs another time with his nails before he hits the ground on all fours.

"Careful!" Ylva exclaims, looking from Chad to the cat in confusion.

"That damned thing scratched me!" Chad rubs his hand over his lower leg, where Loki has hit him on his way down.

"Well, then you shouldn't have shoved him off like that," Ylva says very matter of factly.

Chad looks like he wants to say something rude, but he checks himself and takes a large swig of his coffee. Loki sits a few feet away from the bench, his tail flicking back and forth. "Cats belong on the ground anyway," the man says with a forced smile. Then he picks up the conversation again, talking about something that happened that afternoon. From what Loki understands, the two of them have been shooting pictures at an empty factory as part of an assignment for their photography course.

"I can't wait to see how my pictures turned out!" Ylva is excited about the course, her eyes light up. "They might need some editing though, the light was tricky."

"If you need some help with that..." Chad offers, putting his arm on the back of the bench again. "I know a thing or two about editing. I'd be happy to help you."

"Oh, that's not necessary." Ylva declines the offer with a quick smile. "You have helped me a great deal this afternoon already. Without you I wouldn't have known about that empty factory, it was a great location!"

Chad puts his hand to his heart and makes a little bow. "Always happy to help a damsel in distress. Besides, that damsel invited me to dinner in return. How could I say no to that?"

"Yes, well... too bad Hannah and Norman couldn't join us," Ylva says, emptying her tea and placing the mug on the ground.

"Ah, yes... well, better luck next time," Chad answers. He sounds so insincere that Loki suspects the guy to have knocked that Hannah and Norman over the head to have Ylva all to himself. "I'll give them the adress, so they can go by themselves later."

Loki folds his paws under him and lies down, keeping a sharp eye on the male. He contemplates turning back to the form of the God of Mischief, but this feline shape might be the only thing that keeps him from throwing that weasly little runt of the roof. He can practically hear Thor's complaints already.  
Ylva doesn't seem to be using her magic, Chad is simply trying to make a pass at her like he would probably do with any goodlooking woman. The guy doesn't show any signs of being mesmerized by Ylva, though to Loki she looks as radiant as always, save for her unease because of that douche bag that is overstaying his welcome.

With her tea finished, Ylva has shifted more to the edge of her seat. Loki can tell she is ready to call it a night, yet Chad sits back like he has no better place to be. With a contented sigh Chad finishes his coffee. "You make some fine coffee, Ylva."

"Thank you," she answers, quickly looking away again. She has her hands around her knees, playing with a ring on one of her fingers. Loki gets up, saunters over to her and nudges his head at her hands. Ylva smiles at him and scratches under his chin.   
"Well... thanks again for this afternoon, Chad. I'm sure I have some good pictures to show off at our next meeting." She gets up from the bench and to his satisfaction Loki sees a flash of disappointment on Chad's face before he gets up too.

"No need to thank me, baby," the sleazeball says with a broad smile. "It was  _my_  pleasure."

"Let me walk you out," Ylva deadpans and she starts off in the direction of the metal door, Loki following her closely. "Oh, no buddy, you can't come in." She bends over to gently push the cat in the other direction.

Peeved, Loki watches the door close behind her and the creep. Then he sprints across the roof, to the fire escape. He has just reached the stairs of the third floor, as the door opens on the landing below. Chad steps outside, turning back to Ylva who has the doorknob still in her hand. "Thanks again for dinner, Ylva," Chad says and Loki's tail gets all thick and bushy when he sees how the guy lingers in front of the door.

Ylva plasters a smile on her face. "I'll see you at the next meeting."

Loki sees Chad's next move coming from a mile away. He crouches on the step, puts his hairs up and hisses menacingly. "What the heck is wrong with that thing?!" Chad calls out upset, jumping back.

The girl covers her mouth with her hand, joy in her eyes. "I guess he doesn't like you very much," she manages to say evenly.

Chad starts down the stairs, muttering he hates cats. "See you, Ylva."  
The moment the door is closed Loki sprints down the stairs, jumping between Chad's feet to trip him. He happily gambols down the alley, followed by angry threats to skin him alive.

When he returns to the brickstone building, the light in the kitchen is on. Loki climbs up the stairs until he can jump to the windowsill. It's narrow, but he can just perch on there. Ylva is in the kitchen, doing the dishes. When he scratches at the window frame she looks up in surprise. She pulls up the blinds, starting to laugh as soon as she sees the black cat. With some difficulty she pushes the window up, Loki has to jump back to the stairs to avoid being shoved off the windowsill. Ylva leans out of the window on her arms. "You came to check up on me, kitty?"

Loki meows softly in return, because that is exactly what he is doing. When she smiles at him, he can almost literally feel the warmth that comes from her. She is charming him again and he couldn't care less at the moment, he just wants to see her smile again and again.

Ylva chuckles. "I'm alright, little guy. Thanks for standing up for me." She reaches out to scratch him behind the ears. "See you around, kitty."

 

***

 

The next morning Thor drags Loki along to the coffee shop again. He's kind of forced to go in; they were on their way to Stark Tower when Thor is overcome with a sudden need for blueberry muffins. The God of Thunder makes a beeline for the counter and slides on a high stool. "Good morning, my lady!" he booms at the strawberry blonde girl who's making coffee. "I'd like two of those delicious blueberry muffins. And a large coffee. Loki, do you want something too?"

Loki takes a deep breath before he sits down next to his brother. "Tea, please," he says in a measured voice. He doesn't completely trust himself around Ylva. It's one thing to follow her around like a lovesick kitten when he's in a different body, it's another to act like that when he is out in public. He can't have her work her magic on him in the middle of a busy coffee shop. Maybe it'll be different now Thor is with him, when he saw her at Stark Tower that first time her influence on him was limited too. As long as she doesn't touch him, he should be fine; it could be a good opportunity to get a read on her.

"I can help you to some coffee and tea, gentlemen," Ylva says with an apologetic smile. "But I'm afraid we're out of muffins at the moment."

"No!" Loki isn't sure if Thor's dismay is real or played, it could be a bit of both.

"We had someone from a law firm come in this morning, buy the lot," Ylva explains. "My aunt is making a new batch, but I don't know how long that is gonna take. I can check if you want?"

"We can take our beverages to go," Loki says, at the same time as Thor says "Yes, please, my lady." They stare at each other, both willing the other to give in.

The girl chuckles, putting her hands on her hips. "What's it gonna be? Stay or go?" She looks from one brother to the other, enjoying their silent stand off.

Loki glances at her. She's wearing her hair up in a loose bun, with some stray strands framing her face. Her black apron is tied over a forestgreen shirtdress that hugs her frame nicely. "Alright. You win," he says grudgingly to Thor, who immediately starts grinning like an idiot.

"Let me check on those muffins for you," Ylva offers and she already walks over to a door that leads to the back. She doesn't go inside, she sort of pivots on one foot, sticking her head in and stretching one bare leg out behind her. A nicely toned leg.

Loki quickly shifts his gaze back to his brother, who shows him a toothed grin. "Shut it," he grumbles under his breath, though Thor keeps grinning at him until the girl returns.

"Yvonne just put them in the oven," Ylva informs them cheerily. "They'll take about twenty minutes and then they'll have to cool down a bit first. You want to wait that long?"

"That'll be fine, my lady," Thor answers courteously.

"Good. I'll get you your drinks then!" The girl gets to work and before long there are two steaming mugs in front of them on the counter. She gives Loki the large wooden box with tea bags again and he selects a bag of Earl Grey tea without properly looking.

"You really like Earl Grey, huh?" Ylva remarks quietly when she takes the box back. Loki just looks at her, as she doesn't really seem to expect an answer. She averts her eyes under his gaze, an adorable light blush creeping up on her cheeks.

"How was your date yesterday, my lady?" Thor suddenly asks, after a sip of his coffee. "Good coffee, by the way, my compliments."

"It wasn't a date," Ylva says defensively. She doesn't seem surprised they know about her private life, her friend must have told her about their visit yesterday.

"No?" Thor puts his elbows on the counter and leans forward with his coffee cup between his hands, all interest.

Ylva shakes her head. "There were supposed to be four of us. We all do the same photography course, you see?" Thor nods understandingly, like he knows all about it already. "Two of my classmates had to cancel at the last minute, leaving me with this guy..." She grimaces shortly.

"I take it he wasn't that much of a gentleman?" Thor asks curiously.

"Oh! Are you telling them the story of how the cat saved you from the creepy dude?" The male waiter called Thomas swoops by the counter, slapping his empty tray on it. "Three latté, one tea and four muffins," he instructs Ylva, who nods and grabs some mugs.

"A cat saved you?" Thor is astonished. "I didn't know the cats on Midgard were so valiant!"

Loki rolls his eyes. "They're not."

"Let's just say my little feline friend had good timing," Ylva says, looking up shortly from the coffee machine. Their conversation is cut short after that, as there are more people coming in and she has to tend to other customers.

"You got anything to do with that cat-story?" Thor asks, nodding his head at Ylva who is serving an elderly couple at a table by the window.

"Whatever you're implying, I didn't do it," Loki deadpans. He empties his tea cup and gets up from his seat. "You just wait for your muffins, I'll go check out the bookstore."

The bookstore has a decent selection of books on mythology from all over the world. Loki thumbs his way through a book on Norse mythology, putting it back when he encounters a doublewide full-colour illustration of Thor wielding his mighty hammer. It's always the same, Thor is the popular one, blablabla. The God of Mischief browses the other shelves, stopping when he sees a familiar cover. It's a Terry Pratchett book, like the one Ylva was reading. He doesn't see the same one, though they all look alike to him. There's one called 'The colour of magic' that catches his eye.

When he comes back, Thor is already waiting for him so they can finally go to Stark Tower as planned. "You bought a book about magic?" he inquires, pointing at the book Loki is holding.

"Oh, please," Loki rolls his eyes. "As if they know anything about real magic on Midgard!"

"What are you doing with it then?" Thor makes his way to the door, eyeing Loki suspiciously.

"Someone told me it was funny," he answers curtly and opens the door.

Thor only shrugs and waves goodbye to Ylva, who has just served some guests at a table close to the door..

At Stark Tower they walk in on chaos. "Suit up, boys!" Black Widow calls over at them. "Hydra has attacked a powerplant in Argentina!"

Thor immediately jumps into action and before Loki knows it they are sitting in a Quinjet on it's way to South-America. It's a relatively short flight; Loki is pretty sure they don't follow the conventional flight routes. The fight that follows, however, is anything but short. Hydra has some new kind of weapon; Cap and Iron Man get all kinds of excited about it, yet Loki only finds it annoying. Those Hydra thugs manage to get him and Black Widow cornered for a good part of the night and getting them both out nearly costs Loki his head. A laser sears through a wall like it's butter, almost taking his ear off in the process. When they finally get back in the Quinjet, after Black Widow has thanked him at least twice, Loki gingerly touches his right ear. He was able to heal most of it, but it will take a couple of days before the scars will fade completely.   
The Avengers all look a little worse for wear, yet they are discussing heatedly why Hydra was able to almost get the upperhand on them. Loki pointedly ignores them, fishing his book out of his pocket and focussing on the story. It's silly and full of magical errors, though it is entertaining enough to drown out the sounds of the arguments around him.

The Quinjet drops them off at Stark Tower and everyone gets inside to get a bite to eat. Tony Stark has already called in multiple deliveries. "Aren't you coming, Loki?"

"No. I'm gonna take a nap." Without another word Loki takes the elevator down to the lobby and soon he is on the streets. It's the early evening, the sun almost sets, colouring the sky a warm orange and blue.

He's not sure wether she will be there or not and it turns out the red bench is empty. However, it provides a good spot in the sun and Loki curls up on it anyway, tucking his paws under him. Lying like this in cat form is quite pleasant and before long Loki is fast asleep, the rays of the sun warming his black fur.

He only notices her when she is already sitting next to him on the bench, a cup of tea in her hands. With a yawn he uncurls himself and stretches, belly up. "Back here again, buddy?" Ylva asks curiously. "I wonder where you live."

Loki doesn't respond, he just pushes his stretched paws against the side of her leg. It feels good to see her, magic or not.

"It's nice to see you too, kitty." Ylva smiles and carefully scratches his chin and exposed chest. When she brings her hand up to his head, to scratch his ears, Loki flinches and rolls over to sit up.   
"What's the matter, little guy? Oh!" With both hands Ylva holds the sides of his head, inspecting his right ear. "Did you get in a fight?"

He pulls his head from between her hands and before he knows it he has licked his paw and rubbed it across his injured ear. Spending all this time in cat form lately has sparked the feline instincts.

Ylva settles back against the bench and picks her tea up again. "Did you have to save a pretty kitty from a mean streetcat?" she asks jokingly, looking at him from the side. Loki just stares at her. As if he would look twice at any other mortal! She is the only one that has his interest. He feels like the line between her enchantment and his own interest in her is fading, merging the two to one.   
Ylva pats her lap and Loki doesn't think anymore. He settles in against her stomach and the two of them watch the sun disappear behind Stark Tower.

 

***

 

The debriefing at Stark Tower is lengthy and consists of one heated argument after another. It doesn't sit well with the Avengers that Hydra was able to do them so much damage, that they didn't know of the new weapon beforehand; even Thor had to admit those Hydra thugs proved to be a bit of a challenge this time. The only upside to the whole story is that Black Widow was able to steal a laptop that was used to control the laser. Now they know how to disable the weapon if they encounter it next time. And that's what one of the main arguments is about: will they wait until Hydra attacks again, or actively search for the laser themself? Loki couldn't care less, he's only here on Thor's request and his opinion isn't asked anyway. As a matter of fact, he has conjured up an illiusion of himself that sits there, quietly listening to Captain America and Iron Man bicker away, while he has actually turned his chair around and is reading 'The colour of magic'.

"Loki? Loki!" With a sigh, Loki looks up from his book. His attention is needed. "Loki. For once, could you act like you care?" Captain America's voice is strained, as is his jaw. Loki spins his chair back around, letting the illusion dissolve in green mist. Cap clenches his jaw harder when he sees the illusion lift, yet he doesn't say anything about it.

"Care? I nearly lost an ear yesterday because I was helping you guys out! Don't talk to me about care!" Loki's eyes shoot daggers. "Somebody fucked up. If it was one of you guys, I'm not allowed to retaliate. If it was someone at Hydra, well, I killed over two dozen of them, that should settle the score somewhat."

Before the Supersoldier can open his mouth, Black Widow speaks up. "Why don't we take a break, huh? We could all use some coffee."

"Good idea," Tony Stark agrees and takes out his phone. "I'll call Coffee & Books for some fuel."

"Don't bother," Hawkeye interrupts, holding up his own phone. "Already ordered. Should be here in a couple of minutes."

Loki pushes his chair back and walks over to the window. They're on one of the highest floors, giving him a nice view of the city. Behind him, the others are quietly talking amongst themselves, their arguments forgotten for the moment. Just like the archer said, their coffee order is delivered within minutes. Loki glances over his shoulder when he hears the door open. It's Ylva again, her special visitor's pass dangling around her neck.

"Here you are, Mr. Stark, your espresso," he hears her say. "Oh, that is quite the black eye you've got there! You had a rough night?"

"You should see the other guy," Stark smirks boyishly when he takes the coffee from her. "Thanks, doll."

She makes her round, giving everyone their order, some kind words and a smile. Loki is last and it's like she has saved her best smile for him. "Here you are, sir."

"It's Loki. Thank you." Having her stand this close to him is pleasant and unnerving at the same time. He is incredibly aware of the faint freckles around her nose, how her eyes narrow from her growing smile, the way her fingers fold around the now empty carton that held the paper coffee cups.

"Enjoy your tea, Loki," she says, tilting her head a little to the side. "Seems to me you  _all_  had a rough night. Or day."

"Or both," Loki remarks dryly, pulling the plastic lid of his paper cup.

The girl chuckles, the light sound making Loki's stomach flip. It flips again when she takes the tea bag from his hand and gets it out of the little package before she puts it in his cup. He could have done it himself with just one hand, yet she performs the little act like it's an ordinary routine for the two of them. Her easy demeanor should anger him, this kind of familiarity is unheard of for servants in the palace. Yet he doesn't see her as a servant, he even often forgets she is a mere mortal.

"See you around, Loki," she suddenly says and he realises he was lost in thought for a moment, probably staring at her. "See you next time, guys!" she pipes up, starting for the door. A chorus of goodbyes sends her off.

That evening Loki shifts to the familiar feline shape again, as he does the rest of the week. Some time after dinner she comes to the rooftop, often with a book and a cup of tea. She is reading one Terry Pratchett book after another, picking them from her cousin's collection, so she tells him. She tells him a lot of things, like how her day went or how she dealt with rude customers. Or just silly nonsense.   
"Hey, little guy, what do you call a pile of kittens?" she asks the cat one evening, while he is stretched out next to her on the bench. She gives the answer to the riddle not a second later, already giggling. "A meowntain!"  
Still chuckling, she comes up with another joke. "What do cats like to read? A cat-alogue!"  
Loki watches her from upside down, his teeth bared in a grin. "You want to hear another lame cat joke?" Ylva asks, holding back laughter. "Just kitten!"

Desperately holding back his own laughter at her unbridled merriment, Loki nearly has a coughing fit. He quickly rolls off the bench and crawls under it to hide his all too human behaviour.

Ylva leans forward and watches him from between her knees, her wavy hair hanging down as a curtain that almost touches the ground. "You ok, little guy? Were the jokes that bad?" she smirks, before she sits upright again, swinging her hair back.

The magic is in her smile. Loki can watch her smile the whole day, every day. And her touch; feeling her hands on him only makes him want to pull her closer.   
It's easy in this feline form. Just purr and nudge her hand and she'll pet him. She loves cats, had two of the little animals when she lived back home with her parents. She likes having him visit her, maybe almost as much as  _he_  likes it. Though that is in his cat form... Encountering her in the coffee shop as the God of Mischief has been less satisfying, he is more aware of who he  _is_  then, who they both are. Besides, she seems to like the lie better, even though it is just a veil, not a real lie. After all, it is always  _him_.

When Loki crawls from under the bench she has picked her book up again; she's almost finished with this one, called 'Witches abroad'. He jumps up the bench and curls up next to Ylva, against her hip. Almost automatically her free hand comes down to stroke him, her hand stilling when she becomes too engrossed in her book.   
Her hand is close to his face, his little wet nose touching her fingers if one of them moves the tiniest bit. Loki peeks through one eye to look at the girl. Seeing her face change as she reads is one of his favourite things. Human and mortal or not, she is a lovely creature.   
Her fingers smell nice; he smells himself on them, as well as the faint smell of a pre-loved book that has been on a shelf for years, a little bit of coffee and above all he smells her. A woman's smell, always faintly sweet; you want to dig your nose in to get a better sense of that sweetness. His little, rough tongue finds her skin, kissing her fingers.   
Ylva doesn't really pull her hand away, instead, she folds it against the side of his head, gently rubbing her thumb across his ear. He turns his head to lick her hand again.

This time she does pull back, to turn the page of her book. "You know," she says with a somewhat sly smile. "There is a cat in here too, he is quite the ladiesman." Then she chuckles over something that is unknown to Loki. "Although  _you_  are much more of a gentleman than this Greebo in here." She taps her book with her finger.   
Loki sits up to look at the page. Reading is a bit hard in this shape, like his cat eyes can't always properly process the letters. He doesn't see any mention of a cat on this page, it must be somewhere else in the book.   
Ylva laughs again. "You like to read, little guy? I think you have to be human for that. Oh! Like the cat in this book, a witch turns him into a human!"

Loki's eyes grow big and he swallows hard, though Ylva doesn't seem to notice. She just keeps on talking about the cat from her book. "This Greebo became the human form of what he was as a cat, basically a swashbuckling womanizer, sex on two feet. Or four paws." She gives him a mockingly scrutinizing look. "You aren't like that, you have a more sophisticated style. I think you would be more like..."

Loki holds his breath as the girl bites her lip, thinking hard. "No, the real one would have to be less stiff, more friendly... not always staring at me like I am some odd curiosity. But you  _do_  remind me of him: long black hair, green eyes, a certain swag." She nods her head, now certain. "Yes, you're Loki!"

It's a spell. A magic incantation that forces him to show himself. He can't hide anymore now that she called him on it. Oh, he knows he shifts back on his own free will, but this lie is over because of her words.  
When the green mist is gone and he stands next to the bench on his own two feet, she only stares at him. Mouth open, eyes big, dumbfounded. He doesn't know exactly what to do. Loki smiles disarmingly and spreads his hands in some sort of apology. "You got me."

The effect is not quite what he expected. He didn't expect Ylva to have such a foul mouth too. She is mad. Angry. Furious.   
"What makes you think you can do that!" she shouts, standing before him like a fury. "You tricked me!" Her hands clench and unclench shakingly, like she wants to throw a punch but doesn't know how. "You sat on my lap!! We... we cuddled! You licked my hand for god's sake!! You... you!"

Loki can't get a word in between, she's hurling angry comments at him, not all of them complete phrases. Then she suddenly bolts for the door. "I never want to see your lying face again!!"

The slam of the metal door is deafening.

 

***

 

A mortal girl has the vanity to refuse  _him_ , the prince of Asgard! He is a master of magic, she is nothing more than a waitress, a lowly servant who should be grateful he even looks her way! If he wants her, she has to be at his beck and call, not the other way around! He could make her forget everything, if he wanted. He could charm her, give her a taste of her own medicine.   
Yet Loki doesn't want that; this is not how he truly feels, how embarrassing that may be to admit.  
She's not working the next day, he checked. And he has waited for over an hour, but she's not coming to the rooftop after dinner either. Loki has no idea how to go from here. She has been clear enough: she doesn't want to see him again. Maybe he has to leave it at that and ignore the gnawing feeling inside his chest.

"Did the cat eat your canary?" Thor is looking at him from the door to his room, leaning against the doorpost with his big arms crossed.

Loki doesn't look up from his position on the bed. He is lying on top of the covers, his hands folded behind his head. "I'm pretty sure that is not the correct saying."

"It is the correct sentiment," Thor replies wittily. "The past few weeks you were gone almost every night; Heimdall only knows where you went! But every time you came back you were happy and relaxed. And suddenly that is all gone. What happened?"

"Nothing." Loki stares at the ceiling, avoiding to look at Thor.

"It must be something." Thor can be headstrong if he wants to. "Is it about that girl, Ylva?"

Loki kicks his legs up and sits up on the bed. "I don't want to talk about it! Get off my back."

"Fine, have it your way." Thor shrugs and turns away from the door. "Are you coming? We are expected at Stark Tower."

They walk to Stark Tower in silence. Loki hopes to steer clear of the coffee shop, though Thor has set a straight course for Coffee & Books. When Loki wants to walk past the entrance, Thor grabs his arm. "Wait a minute, I promised the others I would bring a snack."

Loki shakes his brother's hand off. "Can't you get it somewhere else?"

"You know very well they have the best muffins in town," Thor argues and he opens the door to go in. "You coming?"

The God of Mischief shakes his head. "I'll wait here." He turns his back to the shop window and digs his hands in his pockets, though after a minute or so he can't help to look inside. Ylva is working, she is packing up an order for Thor. Her jaw is clenched and those muffins go in the box with a little more force than necessary.

When Thor comes outside again, he is carrying a large white box with the Coffee & Books logo on it in one hand and a large coffee in the other. He smirks at his brother. "Oh, she is mad all right! I didn't get you a drink because I was afraid she was gonna spit in it."

"She wouldn't do that," Loki mumbles before glancing inside. He catches Ylva looking at him with hard eyes and her lips forming a thin line, before she turns away.

"I don't know  _what_  you did to mess things up with her," Thor remarks casually, blowing the steam off his hot coffee, "but that is one scorn lover!"

"She is not my lover, she never was," Loki replies quickly, a slight sting in his chest at the mention of the l-word.

"She's not?" Thor looks genuinly surprised. "You sure, brother? For a woman to get this mad, she has to care first."

"I don't want to talk about it," Loki says through clenched teeth. He picks up his pace and walks a few steps in front of the God of Thunder the rest of the way. He tries hard not to think about his brother's words, though that is nearly impossible.

What is also impossible, is staying out of Ylva's way. With that many fans of the coffee shop around him, Thor being one of the biggest, Loki is bound to run into Ylva. Like when she brings them their coffee order at Stark Tower. Her snarky "Enjoy your tea, purrpatrator" certainly raises some eyebrows with the other Avengers. Thor also makes a point of it to visit the coffee shop more often than he did before; Loki is pretty sure his brother does it on purpose, yet the God of Thunder denies everything. Waiting outside every time Thor attends to his blueberry muffin cravings is below Loki, so he grudgingly follows his brother in.

"A coffee and two muffins for the God of Thunder and a tea for the God of Fleas," Ylva says with fake cheer when she puts their order in front of them.

Loki grinds his teeth at her insult, yet he doesn't lash out at her. She doesn't linger anyway and her discomfort with the whole situation is clear from her body language.  
If it were possible, he would turn back time and still enjoy their little evening routine. Yet he knows that's not a real option: he would have always had to reveal himself at some point in time. It was a one-sided relationship anyway, there is only so much you can do as a cat. And there is still so much he  _wants_  to do, even though she is mad at him and said she doesn't want to see him again. He can't ignore her, to him she is still lighting up the room, even when she doesn't smile. He'd like to see her smile again.

Loki quickly drinks his tea and he walks over to the bookstore next door. He can't keep staring at her while she is working, it will drive them both crazy.   
Browsing the shelves with books isn't keeping his mind occupied like it normally would; he keeps glancing over at the coffee shop through the glass wall. He sees her serving the guests without her usual smile. He also sees Thor stopping her when she walks past his table, to talk to her. Loki decides to get over there, before Thor will say something stupid. He walks up to them undetected, Ylva has her back to him. She's jutted out her right hip and balances her empty tray on it.

"Getting mad at Loki because he tricked you is like getting mad at him for breathing, it is just what he does," he hears Thor say to Ylva. "He has not physically hurt you, has he?"

"No, he was sw..." Ylva starts to say, but she stops herself quickly and straightens her posture. "He shouldn't have pretended to be a cat!"

"To be fair, I wasn't pretending. It was always me, just in a different form," Loki says calmly from close behind Ylva.

She turns on her heels and almost bumps into him. Ylva has to crane her neck a little to look him in the face. Standing this close to her makes his hands itch to touch her. She touches him first, jabbing her finger in his chest. "Doesn't matter, furball, the result is the same!"

Loki catches her wrist and holds her hand still. "Will you stop it with the cat insults?!" Her anger is contagious and he clenches his jaw. They stare each other down, neither of them backing off. Loki is staring into her blue eyes, she fiercely stares back at him. This little mortal has heart.  
"Outside. Now." It is almost a growl. He doesn't let go of her wrist and pulls her with him, behind the counter, through the door that leads to the back. Her tray falls clattering to the floor. There is a narrow hallway with a door at the end, leading to the alley he knows pretty well by now.

Outside, he pulls her in front of him, with her back against the wall. Loki lets go of her wrist and rests his hand against the brick wall, towering over her. "Listen closely," he says angrily, "I'm only going to say this once."  
Ylva is breathing rapidly, yet she doesn't seem scared of him. Loki pauses for a second before he continues in a gentler voice. "I am sorry I let you believe I was a cat, I had no bad intentions." He looks down at the girl, who stares at him seemingly unmoved. The only emotion he sees on her face is a slight frown. "I am sorry, okay?" he repeats, willing a reaction out of her.

"That's twice," she deadpans. "I thought you were only going to say it once."

Loki leans his other hand against the wall too and closes his eyes for a second in frustration, before looking down at the girl again. She watches him defiantly, though when he matches her stare he notices a little quiver in her lip. He lowers his hands and puts them in his pockets, yet he doesn't step back from her. "I'm sorry. That's three times now, Ylva, that's all you're gonna get."

Her face suddenly breaks into a smirk. "Thank you, you're a nice kitty." Then Ylva starts laughing, sagging against the wall. She can't stop too, leaning her head against his chest as she puts her arms around her stomach, shaking with laughter. "Sorry," she hiccups. "That's the nerves."

Loki doesn't move, he quietly waits for Ylva to compose herself again. He can't help but smile at her behaviour, the sense of relief that she is not mad at him anymore is bigger than he expected. "Does this mean I am forgiven?" he informs jokingly when she has stopped laughing enough to look at him again.

She shakes her head, squinting her eyes at him. "Not exactly."

"But...?" The girl is testing his patience, she's lucky he likes to see her smile.

"You're getting a second chance, how about that?" She's still smiling, but he sees the insecurity grow in her eyes when he does not immediately react.

He could punish her for her insolence. He could do that. But he doesn't want to. This mortal girl has him under her spell and he doesn't mind one bit. "I'd like that."

Her eyes light up again when he says that and there's a blush appearing on her cheeks. "How about tonight?" she asks, sounding a little shy for the first time.

Loki smiles. "Okay. Where?"

"You know where to find me."

 

***

 

When Loki is standing in the alley behind the coffee shop, he finds himself in doubt for a moment. Every time he visited Ylva in his feline form, he would teleport himself to the rooftop; sometimes straight from the alley, sometimes only to avoid the last part with the ladder. It all depended on wether there were possible witnesses or not. He always made sure Ylva couldn't see the flash of green light that accompanies his use of teleportation.   
But tonight, she's expecting him. Tonight she knows the prince of Asgard will be here. He might as well just knock on the door.

Through the blinds he can see some movement in the kitchen and a moment later the door opens. "Hi!" Ylva looks him up and down multiple times, a kind of nervous smile on her face. She doesn't make a move to let him in.

Loki looks himself over to discover why she is looking at him strangely. He's wearing one of his usual black bespoke suits, like he usually does on Midgard; she has seen it often enough. "What is it?"

Ylva giggles behind her hand. "Sorry. I don't know. I guess I was checking for a tail."

Loki rolls his eyes, though he can't hide a smile. "You are impossible, woman."

"I know, sorry." Ylva opens the door wider and steps aside to let him in. "Come on in, I've just made a fresh pot of tea." She walks ahead of him to the kitchen and grabs two cups from a shelf. "If you can take the teapot, we can go to the roof."

Loki follows her up the stairs to the next floor, where she opens a door to reveal a narrow and steep staircase that leads to the roof. Ylva has already been up there tonight, by the looks of it. Her book - another one from Terry Pratchett - is upside down on the bench and he hears music playing. The source is a small, bright blue portable speaker next to her book.

"That one is new," Loki says, putting the teapot down on a wooden crate that doubles as a sidetable.

"What? The speaker?" Ylva picks up her book and the speaker and places both on the ground underneath the bench. "It's a present from my aunt and uncle, it was my birthday yesterday."

"Really? I didn't know." Loki is slightly miffed he missed that bit of information. "Many happy returns! I guess I should have brought you a present."

"Like what?" Ylva chuckles. "A dead mouse?"

"Didn't I tell you to stop with the cat jokes?!" Loki folds his arms across his chest, giving the girl a stern look.

"Yeah, okay," Ylva gives him a dissarming smile and sits down on the bench. "It's just a little hard to believe you can turn into a cat."

Loki shrugs. "You figured it out by yourself, didn't you?"

"Only because I read too many fantasy books!" Ylva exclaims, throwing her hands up. "The last thing I expected was it to be true!" Her eyes suddenly grow big. "Can you turn into other things too?"

"It's called shapeshifting," Loki corrects her friendly. "And the answer is yes."

"Wait..." Ylva eyes him suspiciously. "Have I met you in any other shapes than the cat?"

Loki shifts to his female form on the spot, his black suit changing to a black dress. The girl clasps her hands in front of her mouth, mumbling something that sounds like 'I knew it'. He shifts back and saunters over to the edge of the roof, looking down. She probably needs a moment to adjust, he can give her that. Loki would gladly pick up where they left off, but that is hard now the circumstances - or players - have changed. He can't expect Ylva to be as open to him now as when he was a cat, physical or otherwise.

For a short while there is no other sound than the music from the small speaker and the sounds of the city below them. There's a 70's rocksong playing, a male voice sings about his baby being some kind of wonderful. The chorus is catchy and Loki softly sings along. He glances over his shoulder to Ylva, who is watching him from the red bench a couple of yards away, her knees pulled up to her chest. She is some kind of wonderful indeed, he wouldn't show this much patience with her otherwise. Something tells him she's worth it, that this beautiful mortal woman is worthy of his time and attention. He turns back to face Ylva, yet he will let her decide if he can come closer. He will let her set the pace.

Loki doesn't have to wait long for her to ask him to come sit with her. He pours them tea and hands Ylva a cup before he sits down on the bench next to her.   
She lowers her feet to the ground and sits up straight. There is a little space between them, a polite distance between their bodies. Loki closes his eyes and leans back against the bench, waiting for her to start talking. She's got something on her chest, that much is clear.

Ylva sighs. "This was easier when you were a cat."  
Loki hums softly in agreement.   
"Is that why you did it? Less social conventions to worry about?"

Loki hums again, his eyes still closed. Then he opens one eye to look at the girl next to him.   
"You want me to shift to a cat again?"

"No! Yes... no... maybe. I don't know," she blusters. She's cute when she's nervous.

He chuckles lightly. "Why don't you close your eyes and tell me what's on your mind. I'll do the same."

It takes her a moment before she complies, closing her eyes and leaning back against the bench with her hands in her lap. They sit like that in silence for a few minutes before she speaks up. "It's weird, I'm used to your presence, I even really like it, but I don't know you at all! We hardly talked before, yet I told you lots of things when you were that cat. Now I don't know how to act."

Loki peeks at her face through his eyelashes. "How do you  _want_  to act?" She turns red in an instant and he chuckles. "Okay, my turn. I visited you in these past weeks because I like spending time with you. It was nice listening to you talk and watching you read."

"Don't forget being petted or sitting on my lap," Ylva chuckles.

"I must admit, that was very pleasant," Loki smirks, even though she still has her eyes closed and won't see his grin.

"You didn't want to return the gesture?" She says it rushed, like she's afraid she'll change her mind.

"I did." Loki pauses for a second. "I do."

The words hang heavy in the air between them, burdened by so-called social conventions; though why he ever bothered to act in accordance to those rules is a mystery to Loki and he decides to change that right now.   
He starts out easy, by placing his hand on top of her thigh, palm up. Ylva is quick to find his hand and he closes his fingers around hers, moving his thumb in little circles along her skin.

It's like she relaxes now they are touching, she's less fidgety and even her breathing is slower. Loki takes it a step further and turns a little to her so he can smooth her hair behind her ear, lightly caressing her cheek and the side of her neck. She leans into his touch before she slowly opens her eyes to find him watching her.   
"I thought you said to keep our eyes closed!" Her cheeks heat up again.

Loki smiles. "I also said I like looking at you."

She blushes an adorable pink and her voice drops to a whisper. "Is that why you were here every time? Just to watch me?"

Loki rests his arm on the back of the bench, his hand playing with some locks of her hair. "I thought you used magic on me, real magic. I wanted to know how you did it."

She raises her eyebrows in wonder. "I can't do magic," she says softly, and he knows she's pointing out the differences between them.

"I know, darling" Loki answers gently. "Yet you are magical to me."  
Her eyes soften and at that moment she looks so beautiful and precious Loki can't do anything else than kiss her. He slowly leans in until their lips finally meet. Soft, sweet, gentle. Full of promise for more.

The distance between their bodies is gone, Ylva leans into his side and rests her head against his shoulder. She looks up at him and he sees insecurity in her eyes he wishes wasn't there. "What are you thinking about, darling?"

She shakes her head and averts her eyes. "Nothing. It's stupid."

He traces the line of her jaw with his fingers to coax her into looking up at him again. "You can tell me."

She sighs. "It's just... you are from Asgard, a prince. A god who has magic. I... I guess I just wish there was a... I don't know, some sort of guidebook I could read."

Loki chuckles and kisses her brow. "There are plenty of books about me."

"Yes, and they're all in the mythology section. Those are just stories, right?" She raises an eyebrow at him.

Loki lowers his head to hers to catch her lips with his. She tastes sweet, soft. Her mouth molds against his, opening at the gentlest request of his tongue. He kisses her to reassure her, to taste her, to make her his.   
"Everything is a story, darling. Just focus on this one and you'll be fine."

 

_Some kind of wonderful - Grand Funk Railroad (1974)_

 

**Author's Note:**

> Author's note:  
> That's it! What started out as a oneshot became a story in eight parts. I hope you liked it! I had a lot of fun writing it, the words just kept pouring out! Please tell me what you think of it, I love to hear from you all. 
> 
> Oh, and if you got Ylva+Loki fanart you'd like to share, I'd LOVE that!
> 
> Also, I'm open to requests and/or ideas. Just give me a shout! Thanks for reading and see you in my next story!
> 
> This story was first published on Wattpad.


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